As image technology changed from an analog method to a digital method, development progressed from SD to HD in order to provide an image much closer to an actual screen. The SD supports a resolution of 704×480 and includes about 350 thousand pixels. Full-HD within HD supports a resolution of 1920×1080, includes 2 million pixels, and provides an image having an image quality much higher than the SD.
The core of a next generation media environment that is predictable and highly likely to be implemented after a currently available HDTV service is an ultra high definition and ultra high resolution image service. Film industries of the world including that of the USA have vigorously produced and shown new digital films called digital cinema since 2006. In the beginning, digital cinema having a size of 2K (2048×1080) that has a similar resolution to HDTV (1920×1080) was common. It has been certain since 2009 that a 4K (4096×2160) resolution and a maximum 16-channel audio may be common.
Meanwhile, in the field of digital broadcasting, as a next generation broadcasting technique, an ultra HDTV (UHD TV) is favored, and UHD content has a resolution of 4K (3840×2160)/8K (7680×4320) and a surround audio of 22.2 channel.
In 2008, the government of Japan announced that UHDTV will be set as a next generation digital broadcasting standard in 2015. Therefore, in order to prepare a media environment including a next generation digital broadcasting technique in advance, technology for capturing, recording, editing, and reproducing UHD content is considered necessary.